Knives, Spoons, and.....FORKS!

I know this is the cheesiest title ever, but Adam was so funny on our drive to Forks.  He says all of a sudden, "Wait!  We are going to Forks and at home we eat with Forks!  Is that so cool Mommy?"  Yes Adam, yes it is.

Adam, Tyler, Gina (my sister-in-law), Jennie (my lil sis), and I were all able to take a drive through the Olympic Peninsula yesterday.  It was such a wonderful trip and we had a blast!  Being Twilight fans we of course had to go to Forks which is where the books take place.

It is about a 3.5 hour drive so we left at 6am.  On the way we saw....The Y Motel!  In the early 90's my parents took us on a family vacation to the Olympic RainForest.  We stayed at this Motel and have been joking about it ever since.  It was the WORST motel ever!  Not suprisingly it is closed now.... We were so excited to see it.

Then it was on to Forks!  This is the now famous sign that greets you upon entering.

Adam was SOOOOO excited!  Apparently 3 is not too young to love Twilight (don't judge me! haha).

Outside the Chamber of Commerce is Bella's truck...She doesn't need it anymore now that she is a Cullen.

We went on a nature loop and were able to find the awesome Twilight themed GeoCache that my Aunt and Uncle created.  I was impressed with how many people had done it. Very Cool!

Gina thinks she is a vampire and can climb trees....

At the Chamber of Commerce they give you a map with all the book locations.  It was so fun to drive around town and see what an impact Stephenie Meyer has made on this little town in the middle of nowhere.  They are so proud of their town and welcome any Twilight fans.

This is the Swan residence.  Unfortunately Charlie wasn't home.

Even the hospital has a reserved spot for Carlisle.

This is where Charlie and Bella like to eat with locals.  They now serve Twilight themed food.  We however ate at Subway where they serve a Twilight Sub.

Forks High School was of course on the map!  

Dazzled by Twilight is a store that sells everything Twilight.  My mom and aunts actually sell vinyl to this store.  We were there on a Wednesday morning and it was packed!  I'm talking shoulder to shoulder.  There were some pretty cute things there.

We couldn't come to Forks without attempting to see the Cullens, so it was off to the Cullen's home.

Unfortunately they weren't home.  It looks like they turn their house into a Bed and Breakfast when away.

There was however a very sullen Edward Cullen glaring out the window.  

This is after he bit me....I was a newborn.

Charlie's work was right around the corner at the Police Department.  All seemed calm.  It looks like they haven't been having any mysterious deaths lately.

Gina did however get arrested.....

LaPush was our next stop.  They also love Twilight Fans, but are not as touristy about it.

The Quileute tribe is very strict about their No Vampire Policy (and Pepsi). 

We did see the Wolf pack!

LaPush was pretty run down but the beach was beautiful!

It's LaPush!

I couldn't get over how gorgeous the forest was.  I could just imagine Vampires and Werewolves in them.  Adam kept saying he saw Edward running in the trees.  He's funny!

We decided to do a little hike down to 2nd Beach.  It was almost 2 miles roundtrip through the Rainforest.....and I mean RAIN forest!  It was raining pretty hard but what can you expect?  I put Tyler in the front pack and he kept throwing his head back and letting the rain go down his face with a big smile.  He loves the rain.  It was very cute.

This is Gina pretending to be Edward. "You're like a drug to me.  My own personal brand of heroin."

The trees were just amazing.  I have never seen anything like it.  Even if you don't like Twilight, this is a great place to visit!

After the hike down we were greeted by one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen (and I have seen some great beaches).  

Jennie was slightly excited I think.

Can't you just picture Bella diving off those cliffs in the background?  Gina was looking for Jacob the whole time.

I was happy with my little werewolf cub.

There were a bunch of logs that we had to climb over to get from the trail to the ocean.  It was so pretty.

After La Push we decided to go to Volterra......

Just kidding, but it does look like it huh?

We went home up through Port Angeles (doing a whole loop around the Puget Sound that day).  This is the theater of course that Bella, Mike and Jacob went to the night Jacob started to turn into a wolf.

There was also the Italian Restaraunt that Bella and Edward went to on their first date.

We finished off a long but amazing day with a ride back to Seattle on the Ferry.  

Adam and Tyler loved it and I have to admit that I thought it was pretty fun, too.

There was no rain and the view was beautiful.

Jennie and I did however turn into Vampires.....

That's what happens when you GET BIT!

The Cutest Little Fishies at the Aquarium

This week I have been able to visit all our friends and family in Washington.  We have had a blast, even though Mario had to stay home and work.  Since we have been here I've helped my Mom and Aunts with their craft sale, attended one of my best friends weddings, gone to the Aquarium, and taken a day trip to the Olympic Peninsula.  I have lots to blog but I'll start with the Seattle Aquarium.

I love Seattle!  Everything about it.  The Puget Sound is incredible and always feels like home.

We enjoyed eating lunch looking out over the water.  It was so cold but felt so Seattle!

My boys and I, my sister Jennie, and my sister-in-law Gina met my cousins Jacki and Heather and their boys to go to the Seattle Aquarium.  That is 5 little boys under the age of 4!  They loved seeing all the fish.

Nemo, Marlin, and Dory were the most popular by far!

This is my cousin Heather and her cute little baby, Brooks.  I hadn't seen her in so long so it was awesome!

Tyler and Cory were so adorable looking at the fish together.

This is my cousin/bff Jacki and her adorable little boys.  

Adam and Connor are best buddies and held hands through a lot of the aquarium.  So cute!

It was such a fun day downtown!

Are All Red Heads this Awesome?

Yesterday was my brother, Adrian's, Birthday! He is pretty much amazing and I love him a ton. Adrian is one of the most selfless people I have ever known. He never complains and is ALWAYS fun to be around. He is a fantastic artist and is like a walking almanac. We have never fought and have always been the best of friends. I am so happy that he is getting married to an amazing girl next month!

He's pretty much an internationally known male model.....

He comes up with the most fun things to do....

He's an amazing uncle.....

and an even better brother!

We love you Adrian!!! Happy Birthday!

Hell has officially frozen over!

I am NOT a dog person!!!! I am probably the last person you would ever expect to get a dog....but like I said, Hell has frozen over. We got a puppy!

We weren't even looking for a dog. Gina, Adam, Tyler, and I went to a Memorial Day Parade on Monday. At the parade someone was selling 9 week old Pomchi's. They are a Pomeranian Chihauhau mix. When I held him I just loved him instantly! We took a picture and brought it to Mario's work. He tried to act like he didn't want to buy the puppy, but continued to call about 20 times through the day asking questions about him. I called Janice, who has a chihauhau mix, and asked tons of questions. I also did lots of research and found that pomchi's are great dogs. They are intelligent and loyal. So after Mario got off of work we went to see the puppy and his parents. Obviously we brought him home!

We named him Jasper, which I think is just perfect. Gina and I were trying to think of names and when she said Jasper it just clicked. He is not a vampire (thank goodness!) but has a calming disposition just like Jasper Hale. Mario wasn't too crazy about having a Twilight name! hahaha

He has been such a good puppy! Jasper stays in the Laundry room. We put up a gate so he can see us and he likes to play with his toys in there and he sleeps in a crate. He loves to run around outside and is already trained to go potty in one corner of the yard. We haven't let him on the carpet yet. He walks to the edge of the hardwood and stands in front of the carpet just looking. Then he puts one foot over and looks at us. He's trying to test his boundaries (just like Adam!). He also loves to be held and will snuggle in your arms for hours. Oh, and the best part is....he doesn't shed! I haven't seen a single hair come off of him. I hope that part lasts!

Jasper has a little teddy bear that he likes to sleep with. It is so cute! Adam is in puppy paradise and just runs with him for hours in the backyard. Tyler is learning to be gentle and pet instead of grab. I think they will be great friends! Gina, Mario's sister who is living with us, loves Jasper and is so helpful with teaching how to care for a puppy. Mario still thinks we are going to forget to feed him or something....silly Mario!

So pretty much, we are all in love with Jasper and having a great time!



Adam trying to teach Tyler to be gentle....



Jasper with his Teddy Bear



Best Buddies!!!

Gina LOVES Jasper and the feeling is mutual!

He is not much bigger than my cell phone. I think he is about 2 pounds and is only supposed to be about 6 or 7 lbs. full grown.

How cute!

Tyler is the Big One-Oh!

Tyler turns 10 months old tommorow and has been such a joy in our lives! He is always laughing with a big smile on his face. Here are some cute things over the past month or so that Tyler has done.

One of Tyler's favorite things since birth has been the water. He loves to take a bath and has recently started taking them in the big bathtub with Adam. I love this picture because you can see his cute little birthmark on his back!

His other favorite water activity is swimming. He has been doing it for four months now and LOVES it! I have some super cute videos of him in the pool but can't get them onto blogger...so here are some cute pics.

Tyler also loves to be outside. Since we have been gardening he has spent a lot of time in the backyard. This is a pic of when he fell asleep in the backpack. I thought it was pretty dang cute!

Tyler is also loving eating solid food. We are done with all that gross baby food and on to the good stuff. Tonight for dinner I made Shepard's Pie....I think he liked it. No, he did not fall asleep, this is Tyler licking the plate!

Tyler truly is a joy! He is always happy and hardly ever cries. He is a wonderful member of our family.

HAPPY 10 MONTHS TYLER!!!!!!!!

Don't Mess With Adam....He's a Yellow Belt!

Adam has been taking Taekwondo and LOVES it! He has been working very hard lately trying to get his yellow belt. He has been practicing his kicks, punches, and forms. He has also needed to practice his Korean and being a good little boy. The best part is that we had to fill out a home progress report. This included things like: Does he show respect to adults? Does he share his toys? Does he keep his room clean? etc. LOVE IT! The bad part: I had to hand sew four patches on his uniform...I think I should get some belt for that, too!

For his test he had to get in front of everyone by himself and show his forms, kicks, and punches. He also had to answer a couple questions that he had been practicing. Half way through the test he had to go to the bathroom! So funny! I don't think they had ever had that happen before... Haha! Adam really did a great job and was so proud of himself.

After I asked his what treat he wanted to celebrate and he said an icee at Target (of course, he is my child after all). He called it his Taekwondo Icee. Next week is the ceremony where he will get his belt presented to him and we are very excited!

I have the test recorded but for some reason blogger is acting weird. Sorry!

Celebrating our Mom's!

Today is Mother's Day! Mario and I are so blessed to have such wonderful Mother's and Grandmother's in our lives.

My Mom is an amazing mother and one of my best friends. She is so much fun to be around and a great example to me of how a mom should be. I'm pretty positive I have the best Mom in the universe. Adam and Tyler love there Nana so much! I love you Mom!!!

I owe her big time for making her plan a wedding 2 days after Christmas!

Nana and Tyler...She has been there for the birth of both my sons and was a HUGE help!



My mom with Adam, Laura, and Adrian on Tyler's blessing day.

Mario's mom, Gina, is also a wonderful mother. She did a great job raising Mario for which I am thankful. She is a thoughtful, caring woman and we love her a lot! We miss her since she lives so far away and love it when she comes to visit.

Mamita Gina at Disneyland with Ginita, Mario, and Tyler.


With Adam on the teacups!

We also love our grandmothers. My Grandma Walsh is 93 now and has lived such a neat life. I have so many great memories of visiting her as a child and am so grateful that she is able to meet my children. I really love her! My Oma has passed away now, but I think about her everyday still. She was a wonderful woman and the center of our family. I love her so much!

Mario has a very close relationship with his grandma, Mamita Alicia. She is such a sweet person, not to mention a great cook. We love visiting her and miss her so much when she is away. Mamita Ines is Mario's other grandma. She used to cut Mario's hair as a little kid and is always kind and loving. Mario loves his grandma's!

So Adam and Tyler say:

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! WE LOVE YOU!!!!